USA TODAY: Strikeforce finale also an audition for the UFC

OKLAHOMA CITY – The sun will set on Strikeforce as an MMA promotion in the heart of cowboy country.

The longtime second fiddle to the UFC will shut down after Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” event at Chesapeake Energy Center (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT).

Though that wasn’t made official until December, the writing had been on the wall for months after a pair of canceled events and rumors about its future.

But the four fighters headlining the promotion’s swan song aren’t looking at their fates as glass half empty. Each has motivation to win in order to seal the deal with a future in the UFC.

Welterweight champion Nate Marquardt (32-10-2 MMA, 1-0 SF) headlines against challenger Tarec Saffiedine (13-3 MMA, 5-1 SF). With a win, Marquardt likely will be back in the promotion that cut him loose 18 months ago. But he’s trying to keep that out of the equation.

“All I’ve got to do is go in there and knock this guy out, and everything else will take care of itself,” Marquardt says.

Most of the fighters on Saturday’s card have been given no guarantees they’ll be folded into the UFC. However, victories would seem to make their paths much smoother, and that’s what Saffiedine has in mind.

“I’m just focused on winning the fight,” he says. “That’s what I train for. That’s what I’m here for. I want that belt, I want to win, and I want to put on a last exciting fight for Strikeforce.”

Daniel Cormier (10-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) is the one near-certainty to be in the UFC after Saturday.

While the heavyweight refuses to look past heavy underdog Dion Staring (28-7 MMA, 0-0 SF), he has a clear idea about what he’d like to do once he migrates to UFC. He wants to fight original opponent Frank Mir at UFC on FOX 7 on April 20 in his home training ground of San Jose.

“Frank said he’d like to fight me, and I’m saying, ‘OK, let’s do it in San Jose on Fox,'” Cormier says.

Not much is expected for Staring, given that Cormier opened as a 20-1 favorite. Few U.S. fans have heard of the Dutchman, who is a longtime training partner of UFC contender Alistair Overeem.

He plans on changing that.

“I’m going to fight him, I’m going to beat him, and then I’m going to see where I’m going to,” Staring says.

And that seems to be the theme — uncertainty, yes. But win and make the UFC brass’ decisions about the remaining Strikeforce fighters’ futures a little easier.

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